The Mark of a Good Manager

In this era of globalization and keen competition, an ideal manager must size up to the challenge and must fit the bill. The role of the managers has been completely rewritten in the present. An ideal boss must shed his/her ego and come down from the high pedestal he/she spoke from in the past.

The modern day manager just can’t afford to sit in an ivory tower and issue orders from above as may have been the case in the past. Today, the managers have to be experts in the fine art of administration and personnel management.

A good manager has to be an ideal combination of tact, talent, character and foresight. He must have qualities of head and heart to be a successful. He must lead his flock from the front and as a head of the family. He should have a transformational leadership style and must encourage his team to do well even in trying circumstances. He should act in a friendly manner in order to develop a positive work culture.
Democratic and transformational approach brings out the need of an open, sincere and candid communication and a deep sense of understanding between the employees and the manager, based upon mutual respect and rationality.

An ideal manager displays solid moral fiber. It is his honesty of purpose and clean dealings that fire and inspire the imagination of his employees. It requires role-modeling and responsiveness. He is a person to whom others can look up to for guidance, support and help.

A good boss has to be an honorable man. One who is above-board in his dealings. He must manage the company’s accounts well and should never take an undue advantage of his position. A manager who misuses the company’s transport, phone and funds falls in the eyes of his team and can never command respect.

By indulging in inappropriate behavior, he loses the moral right to question an employee’s misconduct. An unscrupulous manager can never ask a corrupt employee, “Why did you do it in the first place?”

No wonder, an honest manager will always stand by honest employees whereas a dishonest manager will try to promote the corrupt for obvious reasons. By doing so, he endangers the future of the company and can cause irreparable loss to the company’s goodwill.

A good boss knows that respect is to be commanded and not demanded. An ideal manager is both respectable and respectful towards others. He is polite, patient and soft spoken. He doesn’t shout at people and his words carry weight He is supposed to be a man of vision, intellect and imagination. His creativity and will to succeed give the company necessary lead whereas a short-sighted boss can spell disaster for the company.

An ideal boss believes in interpersonal style of management and diligently cultivates a healthy relationship with his staff. This results in creating an excellent working atmosphere conducive to progress and development.

On the contrary, a manager who addresses his employees rudely and insults them can never be an ideal manager. A capable manager appreciates his employees publically and tells them of their mistakes in private.

If somebody has done well in sales, an ideal manager would pat his back in the full view of his team, “Simon, I am proud of you and I abundantly recognize your hard work in generating good business for the company.”

Similarly, if Dave has been doing badly, he would call him in his cabin and politely enquire, “Dave, you aren’t meeting your targets. Let me know what difficulties are you facing? I shall do what I can to help you solve them.”

A good manager has the virtue of fairness and compassion in big measures. He is compassionate towards his subordinates and has milk of human kindness in abundance. His decisions are governed by right reason and rationality rather than partiality. He is broad-minded and has the good sense to rise above narrow considerations like race, religion and gender; talent is what he tends to seek and promote generously.

He possesses a complete sense of understanding and sensitivity towards the problems of his employees. He has an inexhaustible reservoir of patience and perseverance. He knows that patience is a virtue that can stand in good stead even in the most difficult and challenging situations in life.

A good manager readily grants his employees leave or permission to leave early in case of an emergency or a special need. Suppose, an employee has an emergency at home or an urgent school examination to prepare for, a good boss would say, “Don’t worry, please do what you need to do at this hour and I wish you all the best.”

A bone rigid attitude in such emergent and sensitive matters can annoy employees and make them rebellious.

Thus, there is a need for an open, sincere and honest approach on part of an ideal manager. In order to achieve signal success, he must have sharp vision, ambition and integrity.

While a self-serving manager can spell disaster for an organization, a well-meaning manager without competence can also lead the company to a dead end. Surely, it is no small job to be an ideal manager yet it is worth trying indeed, that too sincerely.